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[ Hickey is very put out about the animal flood. As far as he's concerned, the Admiral making him be something so weak and disgusting as a rat is him making a statement. So when he hears the knock on his door, he scowls as he opens it, not really wanting to deal with anyone who'll even think of mentioning that flood...

...and that expression of sheer anger only lingers for a moment before he smooths it into something a bit more neutral. No badly handled rage here, just Hickey, giving Tesla a nod. ]

Afternoon.

[Brief though it might have been visible before being covered up by something more neutral, there's something familiar in that expression of anger. Sure, Hickey's face is nothing like Druitt's but he knows what rage like that looks like and it's... actually not particularly comfortable either. On the other hand, neither is he about to let that scare him off either. He's been dealing with Druitt for decades; one more person with potential problems with anger isn't about to scare him off.

Instead, he offers a nod in return at Hickey's greeting before getting right into why he's there.]

I thought you could possibly use something like this.

["This" here being the bottle of wine, which he offers Hickey's way.]

[ Booze. He's not going to say no to the wine, mostly because he's not going to say no to a free gift. And if Tesla expects him to talk about something in exchange for the wine...well, he can certainly say a lot without saying anything. ]

Considering the week I've had, I won't say no to a drink. [ a pause before, ] D'you want to come in?

[Talking about something isn't exactly the point, to be honest. Or at least, not in the sense of hashing out something that already seems like it's been a distinctly unpleasant experience on Hickey's end at least. Complaining about it, possibly. But he's not quite so interested in making Hickey actually have a conversation about it.]

It would make things easier.

[Not that he wouldn't be willing to have whatever conversation ensues while stand in Hickey's doorway, but it would also make things a good deal more public besides.]

Come on in then, [ Hickey says, with a little gesture.

His room looks exactly like the unoccupied cabins, just shrunk down to inmate size: bedroom with adjoining kitchenette area, door to a bathroom across the kitchenette. A large sea-chest sits across from the bed. Aside from the sea chest and Hickey's clothes, there are absolutely no personal effects in this room, aside from a few books on the kitchenette counter.

It looks less like someone actually lives there and more like someone's staying just for a visit. ]

Don't have much in the way of glasses, [ he admits, ] but I'm sure there's two here if you don't want to just share the bottle.

[For all that there is a slight moment of surprise at seeing just how sparse Hickey's cabin is, Tesla isn't really about to ask. If this is how he happens to like it - or at least, is something that he doesn't dislike enough to ask to have it changed - then it's not really Tesla's place to say anything about it.

(Which, in all fairness, has not always stopped him before, but also it's not the point right now.)]

Sharing the bottle is fine.

[It's not his first choice, most of the time. But for this... it'll do.]

[ Hickey nods. He goes to open the bottle of wine, taking a drink directly from it before offering it to Tesla.

And he knows that the man's probably surprised about his room. Hickey's seen enough of other people's rooms to know his is unexpected. There's a little smirk on his face before he teases, ]

Turns out the Admiral doesn't really know what to do if you haven't lived anywhere long enough for it to be a proper room. My room when I first arrived was a little slice of Terror, complete with terrible hammock. One of the wardens asked the Admiral to change it to something like this.

[ There's an actual bed now. He's not complaining. ]

The Admiral doesn't always have the best track record with cabins even if you have.

[Tesla hasn't ever really minded his, to be perfectly honest. But he knows that there's been more than one case where a newly arrived passenger finds their lodgings to be less than ideal - sometimes to the point of complaining about it on the network.

He takes the bottle when Hickey offers it back, though, before taking a drink of his own.]

Although honestly, I can't say I approve of a lot of his apparent choices?

[There's something approximating a shrug, and then he passes the bottle back.]

Edited 2021-09-30 03:33 (UTC)

[ His expression shifts a little as the conversation continues. Hickey's a man who enjoys gossip and the possibility of getting some gossip is enticing. ]

Well go on, [ Hickey says, with a nod. ] There's a story there. I'm listening.

[ What choices DOESN'T Tesla approve of? ]

[For all that he wouldn't, himself, call it gossip boy howdy is there a list of things Tesla doesn't approve of.]

You've noticed how sometimes people just... disappear? The Admiral has never really given a decent explanation for why some people do and others don't. Not to mention the part where he keeps running us into... alternate realities, or whatever breaches are supposed to be.

[ Hickey can't help but let out a small, quiet little chuckle. ]

I'm sure some people won't take this as an explanation, but it feels like the Admiral might save himself a lot of grief if he just admitted he can't steer the ship.

Honestly? It would be more open than he's been with us so far. And that's not exactly a high bar.

[And Tesla has definitely considered the possibility himself, even if the Admiral has never directly confirmed or denied his ability to steer the Barge.]

We're all aware of it, [ he points out, with a smirk of a smile. ] It's not like his inability to steer is some great secret. Might as well get it out in the open.

Exactly. But apparently he's too... I don't know, caught up in his image of himself to actually want to admit to what everyone here can see.

[ Hickey lets out a short, bitter little laugh at that. ]

Image matters, [ he points out, with a little shrug, ] but it only matters as long as you've got it. I'm certain his image is already ruined among the crew...or at least, challenged.

Exactly. And the fact that he's not owning up to his inabilities isn't helping his image either. Not that he needs the help, if he's been trying to run it into the ground.

[Which, for all Tesla knows, he might actually be trying to do.]

If he's trying to run it into the ground, that means there's something or someone even more higher-up than him. People don't run things they chose into the ground. They only run shit assignments that were given to them.

If he's intentionally trying to run it into the ground, yes. But it could just be that he's not as good as he - or his higher-ups - think he is at this job.

His higher-ups, [ Hickey repeats. ] You think there might be other Barges out there?

No, I know there are other Barges out there. This isn't the first one we've had.

[Although it's never really seemed to be something that the Admiral is inclined to talk about.]

[ Well that is new information to Hickey. ]

What d'you mean this isn't the first one we've had?

When I first came on board, we had a different one.

[Not... vastly different. But different enough to have been noticeable at the least.]

But a couple years back the Admiral was basically ordered to come in and have the Barge serviced? And I guess also because his superiors wanted to talk to him. But instead of actually waiting for that, he stole another Barge and went on the run.

Huh.

[ There's a small, calculating frown on Hickey's face as he takes in all this information. Weird. ]

Makes you wonder why he was so scared of talking to his superiors.

He wasn't exactly the most well-liked even then. And his superiors did want to talk to us.

[Which could definitely have made the Admiral a little antsy, he supposes.]

The black sheep of his lot? Or maybe he's just got a rubbish personality?

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